Hi, we are visiting family in Dallas, Texas so we aren’t actually cooking today.  We did want to give thanks for all that we have and remind everyone to think of people who aren’t as lucky as a lot of us.  Before we left for Texas, we emptied our charity jar and made a donation to Action Against Hunger. We had over $100 in it and donated it all.  Feel free to do the same: RIGHT HERE! Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi for tonight we wanted to use up some left overs — we are going away for Thanksgiving — but also make something tasty and quick.  (It was a weeknight so we both had a ton of homework!) In our fridge we had chicken breasts, tomatoes, cucumbers, naan bread and tszatiki sauce.  In our freezer we had some frozen french fries.  The tzatiki sauce inspired us to go Greek and make souvlaki — one of our favorite meals in Greece was when we went to little hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Athens and ordered souvlaki.  We loved that the put french fries in the pita bread along with the chicken, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.  And then for dessert, we wanted something sweet and quick (and that we could take on the plane) so we made snickerdoodles.

For the chicken, first we cut it up into 1 inch chunks so it would cook faster. Then we combined a bunch of dried spices that reminded us of Greece: oregano, thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, onion powder, along with some flour and salt and pepper. We tossed the chicken in the spice-flour mix and then sauteed the chicken in olive oil.  Meanwhile, we chopped up some cucumbers and tomatoes and put the frozen fries in the oven.  When the fries were done, we put the naan in the oven to heat for a minute or two and then we put everything on the plate, along with the tzatiki sauce. Quick and delicious.  We just wish there were a few more french fries…

For the snickerdoodles,  we made what is basically a sugar cookie recipe (butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, flour, baking powder) and then you also add cream of tartar.  Then you form the dough into little balls and roll them in a mix of cinnamon sugar.  Our twist on it was to add a little salt to the cinnamon-sugar mix.  Otherwise the snickerdoodles can be REALLY sweet.  We also sprinkled them with more cinnamon sugar as soon as they come out of the oven.

Today I (Alex) was in charge because Max had to study for a big biology exam.  I was really in the mood for lamb but didn’t have a lot of time so I decided to make lamb ragu.  It tastes great and doesn’t take nearly as long as most other bolognese or ragus because the lamb already has so much flavor.  For vegetables, I just sauteed fresh kale in olive oil and salt and pepper.  And then mom and I worked together on a pumpkin pie (since it’s almost Thanksgiving!)

The ingredients for the lamb ragu are very simple:

1 pound ground lamb

1 small onion chopped fine

1 15 oz can of chopped tomatoes

1/2 cup pecorino romano

1/2 cup cream or milk (we prefer milk)

12 oz. dried pasta (fresh is good if you have it)

2 Tablespoons olive oil

First you sautee the chopped onion in the olive oil until translucent.  Then you add the ground lamb and break it up.  Cook until no longer pink. At this point if there seems like a lot of oil in the pan, remove 1 or 2 tablespoons of it (depending on the fat content of your ground lamb, it may create a little too much oil.).  Start salted water boiling for pasta. Then add the chopped tomatoes and simmer the sauce for 15-20 minutes.  When pasta is cooked, stir in 1/2 cup milk to the pasta sauce, combine with the pasta and mix in the grated pecorino romano. Voila.

For the kale, its just so easy: clean the kale and then sautee it.  It’s amazing how much is shrinks down!